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Just Be Rich (2021)

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Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#251

Post by immibis »

skybrian wrote: post #197
dragonwriter wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Capital includes everybody’s life savings. Capital in the sense being discussed (which derives from the same critique of capitalism in which "capitalism" was coined) refers to the non-financial, non-land means of production; one's life savings are not capital, though they may (or may not) be used to acquire capital. > It’s common to have a goal of retiring someday, and having capital is how you retire. Having priva…

If you’re going to be that picky about the definition of “capital” then maybe the question is why would anyone be against farms and factories? :) So okay, for capital, substitute “ownership of a claim to the profits from capital.” I think it might be fun to imagine an economic system very different than ours, but I suspect it’s going to need cultural institutions that fulfill similar roles, because they serve human n…

Nobody is against farms and factories in general. Some people are against some specific farms and factories, such as for environmental reasons. Many people are against the way the government chooses to allocate control of farms and factories (based on tradeable scrip).

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#252

Post by high_na_euv »

WalterBright wrote: post #178
doctor_eval wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why smart people continue to say this is beyond me. There were so many problems with the USSR - central planning, corruption, bureaucracy, secrecy, misaligned incentives - and it's just not true that everyone was equal. Very few rational people would agree that the USSR is something that we should aspire to. As far as I can tell, "look how well it worked for the USSR" is just a trope that's trotted out by people who…

If you don't like the USSR, provide another example that suits your position. Also, why are the FAANG companies all American companies?

>Also, why are the FAANG companies all American companies?

There are probably hundreds of reasons why SV snowballed this hard

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#253

Post by danpad »

immibis wrote: post #248
RhysU wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most people are happy to pay taxes Source? I hate paying taxes.

If you live in America, Republicans made it as difficult as possible with the intention of you hating it. If you live in any other country, you simply get less money than you would have otherwise.

that is simply not true. Try to solve the scenario of earning 10 USD a month via YouTube monetization with your tax domicile being in the Czech Republic while being full-time employed. "Simply get less money" is a vast overstatement.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#254

Post by nec4b »

immibis wrote: post #245
nickpp wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> capital gains tax should be much higher than income tax Then you would in effect discourage investing. Investing, which creates jobs and promotes innovation. Is as simple as that.

[citation needed] Consider the opposite extreme, where the government subsidizes investments to 100x what they are actually worth. Would this create more jobs and innovation, or merely "bullshit investments"? If a subsidy wouldn't create jobs and innovation, a tax wouldn't take them away. There is also the likely possibility that the same investments would be made, but valued lower.

>>[citation needed]

Any economics text book.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#255

Post by FrustratedMonky »

ryandrake wrote: post #160
Terr_ wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The US had same problem with family farms. [...] it was heavily taxed [...] what is left is not enough for the kids to make a living Math or it didn't happen! I say that because I've seen this kind of claim many times, and usually either (A) the Federal Estate Tax has no real affect on what happens or (B) their definition of "family farm" is wildly grandiose. https://www.cbpp.org/blog/the-myth-that-the-estate-tax-t…

Exactly, in the US, the estate tax minimum is over $13M. Under that, and it's not subject to tax. If you inherit a $14M farm (!!) and have to pay a little estate tax on it, well, I'm not exactly weeping for your misfortune. I would be happy to take that farm off of you and figure out how to pay the tax, if you're so against taxes.

I think the issue is that the land can be worth over $13M, but the income from farming it is low, so the people living on the land are poor. Then the taxes against the $13M are beyond what the family can pay, so they loose the land. Or the land gets whittled down as parts are sold off to pay the taxes on the rest.

The land is worth way more than the income from farming it.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#256

Post by abenga »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #192
toomuchtodo wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It sounds as if you have an emotional issue with the idea that people can change their own situation. On the contrary, I am simply data informed. It sounds like you're operating from a mental model that overweighs ability in outcomes. I have provided links below to help you improve and evolve this model. https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/beautiful-minds/the-... ("The Role of Luck in Life Success Is Far Greate…

Alright, I had previously been lazy but here's a proper response. I'm confused because to me, everything you have posted backs up the idea that these things are in fact actions and not luck based. Country of residence is not luck based, it's either pre-determined or chosen by parents. 27% self made is huge, I would have expected it to be lower. Parental income having an effect on children's is also not an example of…

Like you said, you have a different definition of luck. Others seem to say "factors that you did not choose, and do not have the ability to change" are luck.

> Country of residence is not luck based, it's either pre-determined or chosen by parents.

So you have very little to do with it; you can probably choose this after you finish school, but this is dependent on the place you would like to emigrate to letting you in, thus it's mostly not up to you.

> Parental income having an effect on children's is also not an example of luck. If I work hard so that my children do well, that is not luck based.

If I get the resources to do well because my parents worked hard, that is really not something I choose, so it's "luck".

> Genes influence success, so choose good genes.

One can hardly choose their own genes, can they?

> But still, there exist plenty of people who have been born into adversity and study and work hard, network and press the right buttons.

This is true. They would have had an easier time and achieved more if they did not have to dig out of the basement first before building up.

Nobody is saying that you cannot be smart and diligent enough to change your lot in life, we are just saying it is hard, getting harder every day, and it should not be.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#257

Post by throwaway7ahgb »

pants2 wrote: post #227
virtualwhys wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Define wealth. I wouldn't confine wealth to just the billionaire class; I'd say wealth is anyone with 5 million+ USD in liquid assets (specifically, that sum of money in stocks, bonds and cash). The poorest of the poor in the United States (that have to pay tax), make around $12K per year, and pay more in tax, percentage-wise, for their work than an individual doing absolutely nothing but passively investing in the m…

Basically, capital gains tax should be much higher than income tax. That seems obvious to me. Someone working for a paycheck should pay a smaller tax rate than someone who randomly bought NVDA stock a few years ago and watched the number go up.

Maybe, but then let me capture my long and short term gains together to offset gains.

It's crazy that if I have a $5k loss in year one, I can't completely offset it in year 2 if I have a 5k gain. Now I can only use 3k going forward forever.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#258

Post by throwaway7ahgb »

virtualwhys wrote: post #218
xur17 wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 10% long-term capital gains That is not the long-term capital gains rate in the US.

You're right, it's actually 0% with any amount invested, $100,000 or $1,000,000,000,000,000, doesn't matter, provided you don't sell more than roughly $40k, or, god forbid, generate additional income through, say, work. That flat tax rate certainly scales nicely the wealthier you happen to be, paying a max of 20% if you hold for more than a year and decide to cash in on this now several year massive run up in the mar…

It was most likely already taxed.

If I invest my paycheck in the market, that money was already taxed at 30-40%. Now I make a dollar in the stock market , and it's taxed again at 20%.

This get ridiculous fast.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#259

Post by throwaway7ahgb »

carlob wrote: post #228
WalterBright wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden, France, California, Washington state and NYC have discovered once again that taxing the heck out of rich people causes them to leave. And when they leave, they take their spend/invest/hire money with them.

This is patently false for the only case I have data on. The wealth tax in France had quadrupled its collections in a time where the French GDP had doubled, and all this was without an exit tax. Unfortunately Macron got rid of it a few years ago and replaced it with something that only applies to real estate.

It's kind of amazing when people talk about a tax failing as a bad thing. This leads me to believe that most people want taxes on wealth for punishment and no other reason.

Re: Just Be Rich (2021)

#260

Post by throwaway7ahgb »

immibis wrote: post #248
RhysU wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most people are happy to pay taxes Source? I hate paying taxes.

If you live in America, Republicans made it as difficult as possible with the intention of you hating it. If you live in any other country, you simply get less money than you would have otherwise.

I lived in London and left after paying 50%+ income on taxes. I also had to get private healthcare because I couldn't wait weeks to see a doctor.

So no, it's not just US Republicans, please stop.

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